Eriol

I'm retiring in 2021 and am looking for ideas. I presently live in Pasadena CA. I want to live in a place with a small town feel but not a politically conservative one. I am Asian, single female, so need a safe place. I also want to live in a bigger lot with space around and trees and places around for country walks. A good library nearby will be good. Don't particularly want a hip place with lots happening. I like gardening, taking walks. Don't want snow, don't mind rain. I had thought of Washington State. Oregon would also be a possibility but I read in other forums that Oregon has a income tax. Welcome ideas. Thanks.

Kathie

Sequim, on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State is worth looking into. It is located in the "rain shadow" so has less rain than the surrounding areas. I prefer western Washington, east of Puget Sound, but most of that area has been built up and prices are high.

traveler24

Avoid EASTERN Washington
Yakima Valley south to Wala Walla, Tri Cities, Ellensberg ---all have snow and very hot summers.---Yakima area..very few trees lots sage brush and very politically conservative..
Plus if you will be using Medicare for basic health insurance...you will play h___ finding a doctor.."Not accepting Medicare patients at his time"
I have been here a year and finally got i the system by going to the local"Farm-workers"clinic..
West of Mt. Rainier --whole weather scene changes..
50 mile radius of Seattle and Tacoma housing VERY expensive..
Olympic Peninsula is great ...there are lots of retires there.
I recently visited friend in Bremerton ..
At one time one of biggest shipyards on Pacific coast..
Don't really know about weather .. i was there in June, beautiful day.
Is a beautiful ferry ride i to downtown Seattle..
I mention this because proximity to great cultural events, Museums Library system
will be important...just referring to where you live now.
And you are correct...Wa. does not have state income tax...

tomfuller

I've been paying the Oregon state income tax for 12+ years now. Everyone has to pay taxes in some form. Washington chooses to do theirs as a sales tax.
Some areas of Oregon have higher property taxes than others.
There are quite a few nice small towns in the Willamette Valley that would probably meet your criteria.
If I were to choose a town/city in Washington to live in, it would be one that has both a small college and a good hospital like Ellensburg or Walla Walla.

happytrailstoyou

It snows in Ellensburg and Walla Walla.

HTtY

Gardyloo

I'd encourage you to register and prowl the boards at city-data, specifically http://www.city-data.com/forum/washington/ and its sub-forums. City-data is much more oriented to moving and living issues compared to Fodor's travel orientation.

Obviously budget is going to be a major issue; Seattle and its suburbs are presently in a hyper-growth phase in terms of housing cost, but there are other areas in the Puget Sound area that aren't affected as dramatically as the Amazon/Microsoft belt. In your situation I'd do some investigation of Pierce and Thurston counties (Tacoma and Olympia respectively) as well as Whatcom, Skagit, Island, and Kitsap counties (north and west of Seattle.) There are numerous smaller communities in these areas with all the assets you mention.

Farther south, there are areas closer to Portland but still on the Washington side of the Columbia if you want to avoid Oregon's income tax. I'd caution, however, that using state and local taxes is an unreliable indicator of overall cost of living; in Washington sales tax can be quite burdensome and can easily offset what you'd pay in Oregon income tax, especially if you're retired. Research and comparison is the key.

socaltraveler

This is not personal experience but a friend who lived near you in Burbank retired to Gig Harbor, WA and loves it.

Eriol

Thank you for all your replies. Gardyloo, thanks for your suggestion to check city data. I found one post there by a young couple from Europe looking for very similar things that I'm looking for - simple, quiet, green countryside with lots of trees, off the beaten track. I might ask them what they've found. Tomfuller, thanks for your suggestions. I understand we all have to pay taxes in some form or another, so it's really not a big factor whether it's in sales tax or income tax. I'm not retiring on a big pension and even though I live in Pasadena Ca, I don't own, just rent. And I'm not a big consumerist. Yes, budget is another factor in my search. I'm planning a trip to Oregon and Washington in the spring and hopefully I would have identified some areas to check out by then. I had just returned from a trip to the southwest of France to see if I want to retire there, and it is really very nice, because pace of life is much more relaxed there and food is good, and there is lots of beautiful countryside. The only thing is the language. So this year, I'm trying to see if I can find something here in the U.S. that offers similar things.

sf7307

Gardyloo, we are also researching retirement locale, and although WA State isn’t on the list (we love it, but we want a warm climate), I’m curious about the sales tax. What are the top rates? In SF, we pay sales tax of approximately 9% and income taxes top out at 13%. So of course, no state could be worse, but I’m wondering how bad sales tax is in WA.

HappyTrvlr

Look at Port Townsend.

Gardyloo

Sales tax varies by location in Washington. Here in Seattle it's 9.6%, in Tacoma 10.1% and in Olympia 8.8%. In Vancouver WA (right across the river from Portland) it's 8.4%.

Christina

I think California is the highest income tax rate (Oregon, Minnesota, New Jersey, DC and Vermont are close behind), but the highest marginal tax rate isn't that informative for most people. I used to live in California, saying it tops out at 13 pct is rather misleading, since that marginal tax rate only applies to income amounts above half a million, doesn't it? IN fact, I thought there was one higher bracket for over a million or so. If you earn $100K or less, the top marginal rate is closer to 10 pct and then, of course, that isn't 10 pct of your entire income.

Washington's sales tax is around 9 pct, a little higher than San Francisco's actually, which is 8.5.

Kathie

They raised the sales tax in Seattle while you weren't looking, Gardyloo. It's now 10%.

Gardyloo

Yeah, my bad - 10.1% now.

Kathie

Yipes! It went up again while I wasn't looking.

sunbum1944

i would look for a place in the Vancouver Wa area. Close to a major airport, no state tax in Wa and you can shop in Portland where there is no sales tax

marvelousmouse

It doesn’t actually snow much in Walla Walla. It’s very rare that winters are severe. It’s in a valley and relatively sheltered. I mean, it’s not warm. But it’s often not much worse than Western WA where it can also snow. And conservative is relative, but with the increase in wine industry, I think it’s more moderate than anything else. Western WA/OR is more liberal but that is largely in the urban areas. A lot of the smaller towns are little pockets of blue collar conservative culture.

Bellingham fits your requirements, but renting is going up in price, not cheap. I actually find winter here more burdensome than Walla Walla because of the lack of sunshine. I like it more than Walla Walla, in all other respects, but I miss the eastern wa sun.

I’d retire in Hood River or the San Juan Islands, but I bet both are pricy.

Kathie

The San Juans aren't that pricey to live there, but you have no services available. There is one doctor on Lopez just a few days a week, and I wouldn't recommend him. The other islands are similar.

My parents retired to Lopez maybe 30 years ago. They loved it there. But when my father got ill, he had to be airlifted off the island to a hospital on the mainland.

As much as I enjoy the place, I'd never retire there, given our experiences trying to get services for my parents. Needing to take a ferry to get anywhere makes it more much difficult than living in a small town on the mainland.

traveler24

Weather for the last 2 weeks in Walla Walla..
High 40s---low 20s fog and overcast for 2weeks before that.
Now snowing --predicted 3 inches to repeat on Christmas Day.
All wheel drive car not "required" , but advised in outlying areas.Snow is not really the issue..but with low night time temps...roads often icey...
Last winter was the worst in 20 years according to my friends,
extended from Dec 10 to end of March.YUK
Have friend that lives in Vancouver, WA last 3 years and likes area..
Especially proximity to Oregon coast that has some of the most
beautiful beaches.
FYI Hood River has "exploded" the last 2-3 years

marvelousmouse

Last winter sucked all around. Snow in Bellingham too. I agree that ice is more of a problem than snow, but it gets icy in the gorge/Vancouver/Portland area too, and the temperature range is similar. For really moderate temps, the OP has to live on the coast. I’m not suggesting Walla Walla, I’d go crazy with lack of activities, I’m just saying it doesn’t snow enough to rule it out.